1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to automatic transmissions. More specifically, the present invention relates to an automatic transmission having a hydraulic pressure control valve serving to produce a hydraulic pressure for controlling a gear changing element configured to control a gear ratio by hydraulic operation, with the hydraulic pressure control valve being housed inside a transmission case.
2. Background Information
In conventional automatic transmissions, a main transmission and an auxiliary transmission and a valve body are provided. The valve body houses a plurality of hydraulic pressure control valves that are provided for adjusting control hydraulic pressures supplied to a clutch and other components that operate hydraulically when the transmission changes gears. In some of these conventional automatic transmissions (e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 06-229463), the valve body is divided into a valve body for the main transmission and a valve body for the auxiliary transmission. The valve body for the main transmission is arranged near the main transmission, while the valve body for the auxiliary transmission is arranged near the auxiliary transmission. Thus, in this conventional automatic transmission, the valve body is divided and arranged near the clutch. Other examples of conventional automatic transmissions are disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-56668, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-29530 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 60-252850.
In view of the above conventional technology, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved automatic transmission. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.